Leicester City Retain Impressive UCL Record Following Chelsea and Man Utd's Spanish 'Failures'

Leicester City remain the only Premier League club to knock out a Spanish team in the Champions League in the last six seasons after Chelsea and Manchester United's Champions League exits were confirmed this week after they failed to get past Spanish opposition in the form of Barcelona and Sevilla respectively. 

The then-English champions defeated Sevilla in the Champions League round of 16, after coming back from a 2-1 first leg deficit to defeat the Spanish side 2-0 at the King Power stadium as their incredible Champions League run continued; just days after Claudio Ranieri was sacked as Leicester manager.

The Foxes were in a dark place as the Champions League returned with the Leicester club staring relegation in the face and Claudio Ranieri's men struggling to recapture the previous season's stunning Premier League winning form.

The club's owners acted quickly - too quickly in the eyes of some - as they replaced the experienced Italian manager with Ranieri's assistant coach Craig Shakespeare, a decision that certainly helped as the Foxes went on an incredible run to finish mid-table in the Premier League.

During the difficult period, and under Ranieri's guidance Leicester City somehow escaped a battering as they were well off the pace in Seville as Sevilla only won 2-1 on the night. 

As the day of the second leg drew closer Leicester's owners made the decision to sack Ranieri and it was up to Shakespeare to lead them to victory in the return leg. The Foxes found the form that led them to their first Premier League title and overcame the odds to defeat the Spanish team 2-0 (3-2 on aggregate) to set up a quarter final showdown with Atletico Madrid.

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The Foxes' exceptional performance on the night meant they became the first English team to eliminate a Spanish team in the Champions League for five seasons, and their incredible feat still remains after United and Chelsea's failures this season.

Now the Premier League's hopes of an English Champions League winner rest on the shoulders of Liverpool and Premier League leaders Manchester City - a disappointing fact given that five English clubs qualified for the knockout phases and only two remain.